


The Reaper's Assistant

by LysCelestia



Category: Original Work
Genre: 4 Horsemen - Freeform, Angst, Apocalyptic, Crack, Death, Famine - Freeform, Fluff, Grim Reaper - Freeform, Heaven, Hell, Multi, Mythology References, Pestilence, War, blood warning, death warning, it's gonna be long that's for sure, might be a bit of gore?, somehow apocalyptic I guess??, sorta religious in a way??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29818158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LysCelestia/pseuds/LysCelestia
Summary: Have you ever been in a situation where you swore that you died but then suddenly came back to life just to apparently be the apprentice of the Grim Reaper? That is exactly what Jacob Loxley is in at the moment and is still struggling at the fact that he has been taken from death just to be an apprentice of Death himself.





	The Reaper's Assistant

_ Quiet… Everything is just too quiet. _

That’s what entered the young man’s head and somehow he’s suddenly well aware of the feeling that he’s floating. Moments later, he couldn’t breathe. His hand grabbed his throat while the other hand reached out for the surface. It was even getting harder to breathe and he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. He gasped for air, but only water came rushing in through his lungs, and everything felt cold.

_ Help… _

“Kid, wake the fuck up already.” An annoyed voice said and he felt cold water splashed on his face. The young man immediately sat up, coughing. He groaned and looked up to see a pale-skinned man with white hair and blindfold over where his eyes are supposed to be. “Oh good, you’re finally awake. Time to get to work. Come on, chop-chop.” He said as he put down the pail to the side before walking over to the table.

The young man looked over at the other that rudely woke him up before he looked around. The room looked like an office but the guy… looked so much like a couch potato with those clothes that he’s wearing. Are those fucking stains on his shirt? That’s gross. How long since he took a bath?

“Jesus fucking Christ, kid. How long are you gonna keep staring at me? No romance at the workplace, jeez.”

“Yeah, no. I’m not gay.” He muttered before he finally stood up. “Who are you anyway?”

“First off, it’s not gay if I consider myself as non-binary. But you can call me he/she/they, whatever the fuck you want.” The man said as he waved his hand before he leaned his weight against the table. “As for my name… I’m called by a lot of names by mortals, and they still managed to get it wrong. I am the Reaper. Also called Death. But hey, you can call me either one. I don’t care.”

The young man stared at the entity in front of him. Did this guy hit his head too hard or was HE the one that got hit on the head very hard?

“Uhhhh….. You’re joking, right? I’m pretty sure I---” He said then paused for a few seconds then he looked down at his hands. A memory surfaced in his mind, someone shouting his name but it sounded muffled and there was a shadow that reached out towards him.

“...I died… I’m dead.” He said as he looked up at the man. “What is this? Purgatory? Or is this some kind of afterlife bullshit and you’re deciding whether you take me to heaven or hell?”

Reaper looked at him and took a deep breath. “Mmmm boi, uhhhh. We don’t talk about purgatory that much. Not like it doesn’t exist butttttt, if you’re in there, it’s kinda like a stalemate since Heaven wouldn’t accept you since they’re all about being ‘perfect’ and ‘innocent’ while Hell… Well, you have the same amount of good deeds and bad deeds soooo, yeah, they won’t accept you either.”

“What? But isn’t purgatory a place where someone can atone for their sins or something?”

“I mean, yeah if you’re a religious person. Are you a religious person?”

It took the guy a moment before he thought about the question. “I guess?”

“Are you willing to spend eternity to pray for forgiveness? Nothing but just pray while not knowing if they are listening to you or not?”

He stared at Reaper in surprise and frowned. He didn’t want to admit it but he doesn’t want to do something like that. It just seemed… clinging onto hope while knowing that no one is gonna come to help you.

“That’s what I thought.” Death muttered as he took a handful of papers and arranged it. “Lucky for you! You get to be my assistant in guiding the departed to Heaven or Hell.” He grinned as he goes over the papers and hands it to him. “Here are the souls that you’re gonna be reaping but don’t worry, I’ll be there with you so you wouldn’t make any mistake. It’s also gonna count as a tutorial for you like in the video games, which I’m pretty sure you should be familiar with. With your age and all, especially since you’re a millennial. Unless you live under a rock.”

“I’m not dumb.” The young man snapped as he glared at the other. “And what are you talking about me becoming your assistant? I didn’t agree to any of this.” He said.

“That’s just how it is, isn’t it?” Death said and he grinned. It wasn’t a genuine grin either. His voice even dripped with such sarcasm as he spoke those words. “It’s just the world picking out people and assigning them their positions without their consent.” He said and pushed the papers to the other’s chest.

“You, however, got lucky. That I choose you to be my assistant, instead of praying to whatever god in the purgatory to take you away to heaven after who knows how many centuries you’ll be there. Do not waste this chance, Jacob Loxley.”

Jacob hesitated when he heard his name and squinted up at him. “How… How do you know that’s my name?”

Death lets out an annoyed sigh and he raised an eyebrow as he looked down at him. “Have you not been listening, kid? I am called Death for a reason.” He said and waved the papers in front of the younger’s face. “I guide the souls to the afterlife and as I said, I picked you because your ‘good’ and ‘bad’ deeds are tied.”

Jacob stared at him before he goes over to the door, open it, and left. Leaving Death in his office room.

“Every time…” Death sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“ _ You’re not even gonna bother following after him? _ ”

Death glanced over his shoulder to look at the crow that suddenly appeared on his desk, looking at him with beady eyes, and he shook his head at him. “I’m betting about five coins that I would need to save his ass.” He said and the crow flew up to his shoulder.

“ _ Only five coins? Quite cheap of you. _ ” It cawed as it playfully pecked at his ear and he playfully rolled his eyes. “Not like you need the money. You only hoard it all, Mori! Now, would you be a dear and watch over our friend?”

“ _ Like I can refuse that since it’s my job to help you. _ ” The crow said before the door opened up and the bird took off into the night.

“Who the fuck does that guy think he is? Telling me I’m his assistant.” Jacob muttered as he walked down the road. He wasn’t too sure about where he is. It looked like a small town. There was not a single person outside since it was midnight. He was mostly convinced that the guy is probably a lunatic now. He expected Death to be a skeleton with a hood and a scythe. It was usually the picture that he was drawn in. Not a messy human that looked like he has never done laundry his whole life!

“Help me…”

The voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see a figure of a little young girl standing under the light of a lamppost and from his perspective, it looked like her arm is bleeding.

“Help me…” Her voice came again and he went towards her curiously.

Once he was right in front of her, he knelt. “Are you okay?” He asked and reached out a hand.

The ‘little girl’ looked up at him, only she had no eyes. He was met by a skull with black goo coming out of the eye sockets as the voice suddenly became even more distorted, “Help me.”

The 'girl' suddenly grabbed onto his wrist as her jaw unhinged unnaturally and slowly leaned towards him with a loud screech. He pulled his hand away but the creature's grip was too strong for him.

_ Well, fuck. I guess this is how I die again then… _ Jack thought to himself as he turned away and saw a black blur, tackling the spirit.

The blur revealed itself to be a crow, cawing as it pecked at its hair and swooped dawn to scratch the arm with its talons. The unknown entity screamed in pain and finally let go of him, trying to swipe at the crow.

The young man immediately backed away, rubbing his wrist.

"Well! I would never think that you're eager to start the lesson on how to be a Grim Reaper!"

Jacob turned around to find Reaper, leaning against a scythe and he smiled. "Well, let's count this as your first lesson. Shall we, Jack?" He said as he stood up straight and twirled his weapon around. "Now what you need to know is that vengeful spirits like her died cruelly, so you must calm them down."

The deity whistled and Mori stopped attacking before he flew away. The spirit hissed and looked at the both of them before it screeched, charging towards them with skeletal hands outstretched.

Jack flinched but with a blink of an eye, Reaper was in front of him with his scythe outstretched. The screaming stopped as the spirit fell down onto its knees. The goo covered it entirely before it dripped down to reveal a small shaky girl with tears flowing down her eyes.

"It's okay, darling." The reaper whispered as he knelt down in front of her, letting the scythe disappear. "Your name is Joyce, isn't it?"

The girl looked up at him and shyly nodded. "Y-Yes. W-Where am I?" She asked and Jack stood up, much shocked at everything that just happened.

"Well, you're far away from home, sweetheart. I'm afraid you've already passed away." He heard the Reaper said, and the child continued to cry. "P-passed--? I-I don't want to go yet. C-Can I please see my mommy? P-Please mister. I want to see my mommy." She whimpered.

"Oh honey, don't cry," Reaper said as he carried the child in his arms. "Don't cry. I'll take you home so you can say goodbye to your mommy one last time. How does that sound? Hmm?" He asked as he gently bounced her up and down to stop her from crying.

"C-Can't I stay with her please?"

"Well, you can stay with her but only for a little while then I have to take you to heaven soon so you could get some rest." He said as he looked over at Jacob, motioning at him to come over.

The young man frowned and walked over to him, making Reaper playfully roll his eyes at the frown as Mori landed on his shoulder.

There was a blur and as Jacob looked around, he noticed that they were inside a house.

A woman is lying down on the couch, soundly sleeping.

"Mommy…" The girl whimpered and Reaper quietly walked over to the couch before he set the child down.

They watched the girl climb up on the couch and lie down next to her mother as she sobbed and held onto the woman's arm.

Jacob could feel his heart twinge at the sight and he looked over at Reaper, who was watching the scene before he looked back at Jacob and procured a piece of paper. "Read this," Reaper said.

The young man hesitantly took the paper from him and read the contents.

**Name:** Joyce Oliver

**Cause of Death:** Blood loss from wounds

He silently read the child's profile, crumpling the paper the more he read it. What kind of father harms his child? It was horrible and messed up.

"This is what we do." Reaper quietly muttered as he watched Jacob read the contents. "Guide souls to the afterlife. We choose who continues to live or die. We know their past and what they could have done in the future." He continued.

"She's still too young… Can't we let her live???" Jacob asked and Reaper frowned.

"This spirit has been wandering the mortal realm for four days, Jacob. We are Death. We do not control Time nor Fate." He said as he looked at the clock to see that it's almost time for the sun to rise.

Death walked back to the child, kneeling down. "It's time." He whispered and the child looks back at him. "Will I get to see her again?" She asked as she held onto his hand.

"One day," he replied with a soft smile. "Have you said your goodbyes?"

"Mmhmm. I just hope that mommy won't feel lonely."

"It takes time, my dear," Reaper said as she carried the child and walked to Jack before they were once again teleported, but this time it was in a place where the clouds are supporting their weight, and in front of them lies a golden gate that reaches as far as the eye can see.

Standing at the gates is an old man with pure white feathery wings and white hair.

"Peter, I'm glad you're the one that's out here right now," Reaper said with relief in his voice and Jacob curiously looked at him.

"Good morning, my friend." The angel gently smiled and gestured to the two. "You've brought two spirits to join us in Heaven?"

"Oh no. Jacob's with me." Reaper laughed and put down the girl. "This little girl, however, is joining you."

"I see," Peter replied as he regarded the child. "What's your name, little one?"

"J-Joyce Oliver, sir."

"Well, sweet Joyce. Come. You must be tired." Peter said as he held onto the child's hand and opened the gates. Jacob tilted his head to try and peek inside but Reaper is already dragging him away.

"No time for that, my boy. You still have more to learn." He said as a black portal opened up and they had already disappeared into it.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this story in my mind for a while now and I'm actually happy to bring it to life!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this though :3


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